How to Live a Christ-Centered Life

How can one successfully live a life dedicated to Christ? No matter how God calls you to serve Him, it will involve sacrifice. To live a Christ-centered life one must truly understand who God is, who you are in relation to Him, and how He’s called you to live.  

The first way to live a Christ-centered life may seem obvious, but it needs to be explained. You can’t be a Christian without Christ. You must first accept Him as Lord and Savior over your life. You must accept that Jesus came to earth as God in human flesh, He died on the cross for your sins, after 3 days was raised from the dead, and is coming back again. Let’s break down what Lord and Savior means.

1.      Accept Him As Lord and Savior

Romans 10:9 states that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;

Lord:

The dictionary defines the word Lord as:

·        One having power and authority over others.

·        A ruler by hereditary right or preeminence to whom service and obedience are due.

Jesus, the second person of the Holy Trinity is Lord over the entire universe since He created all things. For those who He has called to be part of His kingdom, He is Lord and sovereign over their lives. When you accept His free gift of grace you submit to His authority over your life and abandon your own. Jesus said, “anyone who wishes to follow me must first deny themselves, take up their cross, and follow me”. Many Christians don’t understand this concept. They may know Jesus as Savior but don’t understand that when He saves you He becomes Lord over your life. You were bought with His blood and cast down your crown as lord of your life in exchange for His will. You must allow Him to lead your life for His glory and purposes. Many people who God has called attempt to continue living the same way they lived before God saved them. They chase after all the things people that don’t know Him chase after (money, fame, success, etc.). Many focus on their own wants, desires, and comfort as opposed to yielding themselves to the will of God and focusing on the things that are important to Him.

Savior:

Romans 3:23

For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.

God is Holy. This means He is set apart from the creation He spoke into existence and He is completely pure of sin. In fact, He hates sin and since He is a Holy God He must judge it. The penalty for living a life of sin is to spend eternity apart from God’s presence. The good news is that God knew that we would never be able to live a life apart from sin (in our own strength). Because of this, He sent His son Jesus to the earth to serve as a substitute on our behalf. Since Jesus is without sin, He serves as the only credible sacrifice to die on our behalf since we all have sinned. Savior means that He saved us from judgment from sin when He died on the cross and was raised on the third day. Not only did He save us from judgment, but also from the power of sin. When He returns again He will save all who believe in Him from even the presence of sin. In order to be saved, you have to recognize the fact that you need to be saved. When you accept grace (unmerited favor) He alone provides salvation. Unfortunately, you can’t be saved by good deeds or being a good person based on the world’s standards. Jesus’ blood covers our sins so we are allowed to have a relationship with God. 

2.      Your Relationship with God Has To Be Top Priority

        Deuteronomy 6:5 New International Version (NIV)

        Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.

        Matthew 6:33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness

To live a Christ-centered life your focus must be on knowing Him and becoming more like Him. This means you must make a conscious effort to get into His presence each day through the study of the bible and by taking the time to pray. Focus your heart and mind on Jesus daily. This is not an easy task with the distractions we face. We spend a lot of time doing things we enjoy and little time is spent with God. The more you spend time in the bible you will get a better understanding of who you are in God and His character will be revealed. The Word of God will cleanse you to make you more like Him. Jesus once related our relationship to Him as a vine and branches. He is the vine and we receive everything from Him. He continues to nourish and sustain those who trust in Him, just as the roots and trunk of a grapevine produce the energy that nourishes and sustains its branches while developing fruit. Once you have believed in Him by faith, you share similar qualities as Him and your identity is in Him.

I found these scriptures provided by bible.org to illustrate these truths. 

We share in all that Jesus is in His person and we share in what He did and will do, His Work. Thus:

o   As He died unto sin, so we too have died unto sin.

Romans 6:3 Or do you not know that as many as were baptized into Christ were baptized into His death?

o   As He rose from the dead, so have we.

Romans 6:5 For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of his death, we will certainly also be united in the likeness of his resurrection.

o   As He is seated at God’s right hand, so are we.

Ephesians 2:6 and He raised us up with Him and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus,

o   As He is the Son, so we are now sons.

Galatians 3:26 For in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God through faith.

o   As He is eternal life, so we have eternal life.

Romans 6:23 For the payoff of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

o   As He is perfect righteousness, so we have His righteousness.

Philippians 3:9 and be found in Him, not because I have my own righteousness derived from the law, but because I have the righteousness that comes by way of Christ’s faithfulness—a righteousness from God that is in fact based on Christ’s faithfulness.

3.      Be Available to God and Focused on Doing The Work He Has Called You To Do

To live a Christ-centered life you must be available to Him. You have to ask God to direct your life each and every day. Yes, you may have to work or take care of your children, but no matter your responsibilities your life should be a living testimony to everyone you encounter. Your life should be characterized by joy, hope, love, patience, peace, and kindness—all of which comes from the Holy Spirit. When people see these qualities in you it stands out because the world is not characterized by these things. This will give you an opportunity to tell people about God as they will be drawn to you and your different way of living. When you face difficult times and don’t complain this will stand out to everyone. Your character will  give you a chance to tell people about what makes you different (God) and share the good news about Jesus.  The key is that you must submit to Him as Lord over your life and not be focused on chasing selfish ambitions. You can’t be available to do God’s will if you are focused on your needs over His. If you have a mind focused on Jesus and what He has done for you, and judge sin as it occurs in your mind, then you can win this battle each day. If you make a decision to follow God and live a life pleasing to Him and not for the lusts that everyone lives for, your behavior will follow.  

You must examine your heart to see if you are putting God first in your life. Here are some questions I found on bible.org:

What do you enjoy daydreaming about?

What you spend your time thinking about in your free time reveals a lot about your heart. 

a.      Where are your strongest affections?

b.      Do you think of a dream home? A potential relationship? 

What do you spend your money on?

Clothing, children, status symbols like cars, houses, and boats?

What do you fear?  What are you anxious about? Where is your heart? Where are your treasures, where are your affection?

a.       When you pray for something and don’t get it?  Do you respond with frustration?  Anger, tears, despair?

b.      What devastates you?  What could devastate you?

c.       What would cause you to have uncontrollable emotions?

Is there something SO important, that if it doesn’t happen or it does happen, it makes you so mad, sad?

What makes you angry? Anxious?

Do you focus on money, materialism (bigger home, car), security, pleasure, beauty (body image), romantic love, control?

Living a Christ-centered life doesn’t mean you have to live isolated or work full time in ministry. To live a life that is dedicated to God He just has to be at the center of everything you do. Your heart, mind, body, talents, and resources should always be dedicated to Him. He is to be everything to you—the most important thing in your life. Everything that you do rather at work or in the home should glorify God. Decisions and goals should be made with the thought of how it pleases Him. Take your time spent with Him seriously and be sure to get in His presence each day. Spend time with other Christians and be available and looking for opportunities to meet the needs of others and ready to tell people about Christ. Witnessing starts with the way you live your life—be God’s ambassador!